I've been watching with morbid interest as cases of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV, originating in the Wuhan Seafood Market from live animals) continue to spread across the world. As with many viruses (any with an R0 > 1.9) it exhibits an exponential growth pattern, with each infected person spreading the disease to 3-4 others on average. Adding in the fact that the virus is apparently contagious before carriers display symptoms, and that it emerged right on the verge of the Chinese lunar new year when millions were traveling to and from China and throughout all the provinces, we could really have an emerging global pandemic.
It's been almost exactly a century since the last massive global pandemic... maybe we're overdue.
Sources:
General info:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/29/coronav ... dates.html
Video showing severe conditions inside the Wuhan Red Cross hospital:
https://nypost.com/2020/01/24/coronavir ... -hospital/